Posted
by
Soulskill
on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @09:34AM
from the tegra-his-arms-wide dept.

Vigile writes "When you sell over 100 million handheld gaming systems, everyone wants to be involved in your success; just ask Nintendo. As a company with many different obstacles in its path, NVIDIA could definitely use the boost in revenues that would come from partnering with a company like Nintendo on a handheld system, and it looks like the Tegra processor will make that happen. The NVIDIA Tegra processor is an SoC that runs a set of ARM cores, a GeForce-based graphics core and an HD video processor capable of 1080p output that would definitely give the current Nintendo DS/DSi systems a performance boost in line with the Sony PSP. The 'Nintendo TS,' as it has been dubbed, will apparently be ready for a late winter 2010 release and should put a spark in the mobile gaming market and give Nintendo's developers the power to bring higher quality games to the platform."

But my only worry now is battery life.Are we to expect to see the Nintendo logo then power off?Are we to even SEE the logo? It'll be like turning it on, light flashes and off.Damn you Nintendo~, DAMN YOU~

But my only worry now is battery life.Are we to expect to see the Nintendo logo then power off?Are we to even SEE the logo? It'll be like turning it on, light flashes and off.Damn you Nintendo~, DAMN YOU~

Which is MORE than enough for a handheld. There's no reason to pack in 1600x1080 resolution into a screen that's four inches across.

On a handheld, priorities are different than a home console. In addition to the obvious (like low power consumption), I would think resolution would pale in importance to other things like offloading physics or better compression or procedural generation of textures, to counteract the restricted processor/memory.

Nvidia is, in fact, suspending development of further X86 chipsets(since AMD now includes ATI, and Intel is playing hardball with QPI), although they are continuing production of current ones. Tegra is a totally different product line.

It would be great if it came with a motor and hooked up to a set of blades, it would be really useful as a stick blender and possibly a desk fan. Just make sure you have the plastic blades hooked up for that mode.

Because EVERY mobile device needs to be a cell phone, PDA, Alarm Clock, web browser, video game console, computer, hooker, and able to play blackjack. Just add a kitchen sink and it will be the perfect handheld, where playing 1080p on a tiny screen will make you want to throw up in a kitchen sink, so just add one on it!

Well, look at it this way. A cell phone, at its core, is very basic. A PDA is more complicated, but only really requires a stylus. A web browser requires very little besides a stylus. A phone just requires the camera components and a viewfinder of sorts. An MP3 player just requires a basic interface and a headphone jack. Combination devices such as the iPhone and Android phones have been very successful because each function is very basic.

So, what you're saying is that you want Nintendo to buy out Bug Labs and repackage their modular hand-held device into a shiny new casing?

The thing is though, that your dream hardware is a nightmare for developers and publishers since having that many add-ons and expansions would severely fragment the user base. Then you're back to the whole chicken-and-egg dilemma that gaming consoles have faced for years. Who's going to make a game that uses add-on X, if there's no guarantee that a significant number of

The manufacturing cost for the DS flash carts is undoubtedly much lower than UMD was... I'd assume that unless the market just falls in love with the PSPgo (It won't), Nintendo will play it safe and keep some form of physical media.

Depends on how strict you consider the "read-only" part, but whatever is in the DS cards, it sure isn't mask-ROM or fuse-ROM. It's some type of block-addressable solid state memory, so it's likely very similar to flash.

WiiWare breaks your demands 1 and 2 but satisfies 3 and 4. For example, Tetris for DS was $30, but Tetris for Wii is $12. WiiWare games are about the same size in megabytes (and presumably budget) as DS games, yet WiiWare is much cheaper to buy. And all downloaded Wii channels have an Operations Guide: press the home button at the game's title screen.

The big problem that I can see with the Nintendo Points stores is that unlike Apple's App Store, they're for day-job developers only, not part-time develope

Not be forced to rebuy all my games when I lose / break my gaming console

The game should be cheaper because there is "no" shipping cost, no store taking their cut and no physical material being produced

I want an instruction booklet dammit! I RTM and I don't care what anyone says but I want an instruction booklet. A digital one will do just fine.

Unfortunately point #1 will not likely every happen with digital media due to the drawbacks for companies doing this.

However, point #2 is already here. Services like Steam allows you to download your games to new systems. There's some rules here and there and it suffers from the "all eggs in one basket" scenario, if Steam shuts down do you loose your media? Thought more companies with subscriptions and accounts, such as World of Warcraft, allow you to download the client directly from your account. It k

I hope this TS is real -- a true hardware upgrade is exactly what these portable systems need. The iPhone 3GS is a great deal more powerful than the PSPs and DS. I wonder how worried Sony is, considering their new PSP Go doesn't have any hardware capability upgrades (other than Bluetooth).

Portable game systems are now competing with cell phones. Nintendo needs to realize that for their next portable game system or it will be limited to elementary and middle school kids. Beyond that age, they want a PDA / cell phone.

Granted, there are some big limitations to a cell phone as a gaming platform. The DS and DSi are much cheaper than the iPhone or even the iPod touch, and they have better control inputs. But that may change with future phones, especially Android phones.

Wait, no. That's not right. I have one, and so does my: Mother, father, sister, both nephews... That's just off the top of my head, and only people actually related to me by blood. My youngest niece owns one, too, but she's actually under 12, so...

I didn't say that, or anything like it. You put words in my mouth then argued against them. It would be silly of me to say that since I am 33 and I own a Nintendo DS and I write software for it. [mobydisk.com] I have one because my immediate circle of friends own them.

What I said is that the next generation of devices won't appeal to the older crowd unless they have PDA capabilities.

I used to know a dozen 30-somethings with DSs -- every one had a mod chip. That was about 3 years ago. Now, at least half of those same

I am part of that homebrew community. I get it. But you must understand the level of effort that goes into it, and the reward.

Hacking the DS was special because the hardware was great, and cheap: you could do 10 times as much with it as Nintendo was actually doing. That makes it really cool. But the DS is no longer unique. What takes considerable effort and reverse-engineering on the DS, can now be done trivially with modern devices.

You are right that somebody will hack it - probably just to be able to

Convergence is great, but if Nintendo turned their next portable game system into a phone, they would substantially reduce their potential market share by excluding all the people who already have a phone and don't want to switch to another one, or who just want the game system and don't want to pay for the phone components. Plus, Nintendo has proven that they can hold their own against giants from other industries who have attempted to move in on their space by sticking to what they know: games. Having to

Also, exclusivity deals. Apple and AT&t, for instance. It wasn't Apple that wanted to be stuck with one carrier, but the US phone market more or less dictates it. I'd hate to have to miss out on Nintendo's newest handheld for 18 mos/3 years because they have a exclusive deal with Sprint, or Verizon, ect...

What happens when, in the future, a cell phone is a 50 cent piece of hardware that can be embedded into a wristwatch? Will people not buy that wristwatch just because it has a cell phone in it?

I don't like carrying multiple devices. So I hacked my DS and made it a PDA, browser, etc. But then I had to carry a phone. And much like many people, I said the heck with carrying around the DS/PDA since my phone did all that and more.

I agree that convergence could result in some overlap in purpose. But I don't

What happens when, in the future, a cell phone is a 50 cent piece of hardware that can be embedded into a wristwatch?

When that happens, and when it can be sold no-strings-attached without some kind of contract or network/service lock-in, then it wouldn't be a limiting factor. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I don't think anyone will refuse to buy a device just because it includes a feature they won't use.

If that was true the iPod touch wouldn't exist, and everyone would just have iPhones. Again, we can chat again when a cell phone is a 50 cent piece of hardware that doesn't have any strings attached, but that's a long ways off, if it ever happens. Same for GPS, etc. etc. Sure, we can now put a calcul

I think the DSi proves that they have already begun to do so. If any of the three big game companies (Nintendo, Sony & Microsoft) have proven that they can reach the casual/mainstream audience, it's Nintendo. All they really have left to do is cut out their idiotic fear of the internet.

Portable game systems are now competing with cell phones. Nintendo needs to realize that for their next portable game system or it will be limited to elementary and middle school kids. Beyond that age, they want a PDA / cell phone.

Portable game systems are now competing with cell phones. Nintendo needs to realize that for their next portable game system or it will be limited to elementary and middle school kids. Beyond that age, they want a PDA / cell phone.

Cell phones have a monthly fee, and in the North American region, the kind of data transfer needed for Nintendo WFC play and TSWare downloads won't fit into a bargain-basement $10/mo prepaid plan. PDAs look better for this market, and Nintendo is slowly heading that way (see Opera for DSi), but a real PDA needs the breadth of applications developed by part-time developers, not just day-job developers. With Wii Menu 4.2 that deletes the Homebrew Channel,* Nintendo is showing that it wants to shun part-timers

I hope I don't get flamed for nitpicking, but cell phones don't have a monthly fee. Cell phone service does. If Nintendo added cell phone capability, that doesn't mean that every 7-year-old has to activate it.

Unless game compatable Cells come down I don't see it.Nintendo has a great software and customer base.Of course it is possible that if the carriers all select LTE and it is everywhere, and the carriers become dumb pipes, then we could see a new age of devices.You buy your LTE account and then pick a device. Then pick a VOIP company and your set.Imagine the devices we could see and the servies. Prices would fall and service would improve.Just not going to happen.

Yeah, price is probably the biggest reason that what I'm describing may not happen for another generation or so. But I suspect that if Nintendo decided, tomorrow, to make the DSi a cell phone, that it would not severely impact the price. It already has wireless capabilities, a touch screen, a camera, and a decent enough processor to decrypt WPA.

I'd love to know: Would it add $10? $50? $100? That still wouldn't double the price of the item - but for many people, it would more than double the usefulness

"It will be a little chip that somebody buys and can put into a device. "It is pretty much that way now. The problem is that the device must pass FCC testing and then get picked up by a carrier.And then you have to have the software for it.I just don't know if a $200 Nintendo cell phone would sell when you can get an iPhone for $99.Maybe but I just don't think that Nintendo wants to make a bad cell phone that is also a good DS or a good cell phone that is a bad DS.Trying to make a Good Cell phone that is a

I grieve with you, as I was one of the last to get a smart phone. But I think society will change to accept it. Those arbitrary rules about not bringing a cell phone into this place or that place will go away when cell phones can be embedded into a watch or a piece of jewelry, or when everything has a cell phone in it.

Really? I know people who bought Sony Playstations to use as a DVD player. And PS3s as a blu-ray player. And XBOXs to stream Tivo. Who decide between buying a game for their PC, or for their console. So that day came and went about 5 years ago. Some people even browse the web or do social networking on their consoles.

.hard core gamers are hardcore gamers. they will always want a platform that is specific to gaming and gaming alone.

The people I just described are the new generation of hardcore gamers. 20-somethings who buy the latest game that just came out. The ones who spend hours a day getting their Halo rank

. I don't want to have to upgrade my game system in order to upgrade my cell phone,

Why would you have to do so?

or buy multiple cell phones because I want both a DS and a PSP.

How would that be a problem? If they both had cell phones, then you would activate one of them as a cell phone but not the other. Then you would carry around two devices. If they were not cell phones, then you would carry around 3 devices: the DS, the PSP, and the cell phone. And odds are, the cell phone probably also has games on it too. That sounds like a pain in the butt to me. Literally, since that would

Nintendo would have to support the damn thing. If they didn't get an exclusive deal they'd have to deal with random people having random problems on random carriers. Even if they did get an exclusive carrier they'd still have to deal with random people having random problems on a certain carrier. I'd rather have Nintendo sticking to games.

That's highly possible but they at least had to pay for them and if NVIDIA went out while products where still being made with their chips then those products would have their own futures questioned. The Zune has been iffy enough as it is to get the half a percent of market share it has now.

Yea I am sure that Zune sales will keep nVidia alive...Actually the ZuneHD is a better media player than the iPod Touch.The problem is that the Touch is a better platform than the ZuneHD.The ZuneHD lacks an appliacation store and the software that is available for it really is nothing to write home about.Too bad since the hardware is better than the iPodTouch.

"None != Shitty. It has an app store it just sucks hard, and You can still get them installed the old way in Visual Studio with XNA too."To me an app store is a place where third party developers can sell their software.The ZuneHD "app store" from what I hear only has ad supported software and is not open third party developers.It sounds more like the "stores" where you can buy silly games for your feature phone than a true app store.But I could be mistaken since I don't have a ZuneHD I have only heard abou

The beauty of the Nintendo stuff up to now has been that the limited CPU+graphics power forced devs to focus on gameplay. I really hope eye candy won't distract them from making fun, as opposed to beautiful or over-graphic'ed, games.

I could certainly see some improvement with a larger, higher-resolution screen. The screen on the DS is so small that you can't make-out small details. This really killed my enjoyment of Professor Layton - style games, because the details needed to solve puzzles are often hidden in a single pixel.

To be honest, I really haven't been that satisfied with any of these "fun" games. My most recent disappointment: Scribblenauts. The game is captivating for about 2 hours, but then you get tired of it: the physi

I've always thought it was a shame that Rembrandt didn't have access to Photoshop; it would have enabled him to make higher quality art. And the quality of Bach's work really suffered since he lacked access to synthesizers and theremins. And I guess Casablanca is pretty good, but clearly its quality suffered for lacking the options of widescreen, color, and 3d.

It's a shame that [unknown caveman] didn't have permanent paints or we would marvel at his landscapes from the last ice age. [Unknown Middle Ages musician] is really underrated just because there was no technology to record his performances. [Grainy, degrading silent film] had a wonderful story, brilliant actors, and a moving soundtrack; but it's hard to appreciate it with the blurred faces and death of the organist.

HIgher resolution alone won't make most games better. But the ability to maintain a higher f

So, you are saying the 8-bit Nintendo is all we ever needed. That's the argument you are making and it is stupid. A more capable system allow for better graphics that can give a more immersive environment as well as having improved AI or capabilities. Every retard knows that better graphics != a better game. But it seems counter intuitive to people on here that increasing the hardware specs can give a developer more options to create a deeper game.

Any artist can make great art with the tools of their time. But you seem to argue against improving those tools...that the tools we have now are good enough. Could you really have Half-Life or Mass Effect or Bioshock on an 8-bit Nintendo? Maybe, but it would not be as fun because it would be so limited. It would be like telling Mozart that all he could use is a tuba and a triangle.

So, you are saying the 8-bit Nintendo is all we ever needed. That's the argument you are making and it is stupid.

No, actually that's YOUR stupid argument.He is saying that 8-bit Nintendo game were still quality games, and you're saying they can't be.That's a very stupid argument to make, when the 8-bit Nintendo games still sell well on Virtual Console on the Wii.

A more capable system allow for better graphics that can give a more immersive environment as well as having improved AI or capabilities.

Yes, but a less powerful system allows for exactly the same things.

Every retard knows that better graphics != a better game. But it seems counter intuitive to people on here that increasing the hardware specs can give a developer more options to create a deeper game.

Experience has shown that the counter intuitive thing is the correct one.What you're saying is true in a vacuum, but in real life, there's a thing called money that prevents you from reaching y

Perhaps think of it this way instead: there are additional visual cues that become possible with additional graphical oomph, which might be employed for more creative user interface options. PC games have shied away from trying this because developers can't count on the players having the same hardware - most graphics chips sold are still the weak built-in intel ones, IIRC. MS and Sony have staked their reputation this generation on big budget eye candy, so they haven't really hit their peak of using the ne

I've always hated the DS form factor. Two screens is terrible, I want one widescreen aspect ratio display. I like the hardware for the PSP Go, too bad they shot themselves in the foot about the card slot.

3 screens, baby. It's that natural progression of things.DS = Dual ScreenTS = Triple ScreenI say they should just skip quad screen and jump directly to quint/penta screen, just to be 2 steps ahead of the competition. Because more is better.

It hasn't been released yet? I almost put in for a pre-order over a year ago (with the anticipation that they would've been shipped within a month or 2). Definitely glad I didn't, or I would've been out a hunk of cash for nothing. What happened to the 4000 people who pre-ordered one?

Bank transfers may be cheap and easy in Europe but are neither here in the states and all the alternatives looked about as legit as going into a smoky backroom and handing Guido a wad of cash to be delivered for you.

What really sucked was having the exchange rate eat $70. So instead of waiting the year+, I purchased an iPod touch.

Their status page [openpandora.org] looks pretty close. This thing actually sounds very cool, a sort of netbook (plus gaming hand held!) that a linux geek would be able to settle for. The type of thing that still works to lounge around in bed on a winter morning and just cruise the net. Thanks to gp for mentioning this as I had not heard of it, yet had considered getting the previous GP2X in the past. Does anyone have an idea of the cost of this thing?

Its $330, and I believe there are still a few available from the first run due to cancellations. The status is pretty much up to date except the CE/FCC testing is scheduled for today. The case moulds are expected very soon (mid-October, delayed from late September due to Chinese holidays). Finally some exciting stuff for the people that have had their order in for a year! I really want one (that's why I follow it so closely), but can't justify the purchase just yet. Maybe the second batch in 2010.

Only because the DS has no official firmware update mechanism. On the other hand, the Wii, the DSi, and (presumably) the TS can update their firmware to break homebrew. Firmware updates come on all new games.

Probably not. Currently the only supported OS for Tegra is Wince. If you want something else, you probably need an NDA to get the specs required for the drivers. If it is Linux, it will be locked-down like a TiVo so it's not particularly relevant that it's Linux, but most likely it will be something custom which provides minimal hardware abstraction and nothing else.

me@slashdot > --gamemode
SLASHGAME: YOU ARE STANDING IN A FIELD
SLASHGAME: LOOK NORTH
SLASHGAME: YOU SEE AN ANONYMOUS COWARD
SLASHGAME: WALK NORTH
SLASHGAME: THE ANONYMOUS COWARD GREETS YOU BY SAYING "FUCK YOU NINTENDO"
SLASHGAME: INVENTORY
SLASHGAME: YOU HAVE 2 COOKIES
SLASHGAME: QUERY COOKIES
SLASHGAME: COOKIE #1 IS COOKIE WITH POWER OF SU
SLASHGAME: COOKIE #2 IS COOKIE OF APPLE POWER
SLASHGAME: DROP COOKIE WITH POWER OF SU
SLASHGAME: YOU DROP THE COOKIE WITH POWER OF SU
SLASHGAME: ANONYMOUS COWARD PICKS UP COOKIE WITH POWER OF SU
SLASHGAME: IN SOVIET UNION, COOKIE EATS ANONYMOUS COWARD
SLASHGAME: EXIT
me@slashdot >

No offense, but lame response. I was hoping someone more clever than me (or perhaps just more sufficiently into their caffeine regimen for the day) could write a humorous response in the form of the original joke.

Well, seems like I'm disappointed, so I'll just have to do it myself:

me@slashdot > --gamemode
SLASHGAME: YOU ARE STANDING IN A FIELD
SLASHGAME: LOOK SOUTH
SLASHGAME: YOU SEE AN ANONYMOUS COWARD
SLASHGAME: WALK SOUTH
SLASHGAME: THE ANONYMOUS COWARD GREETS YOU BY SAYING "FUCK YOU NINTENDO"
SLAS

Gawd that's ugly. Why not integrate the buttons into the main body. It seriously looks like a maxi pad. I hope this is just the rumor mill at work.

While probably not a reliable concept picture of the new device, the reason for the buttons being separated from the screen body is because this is supposed to show us slide/twist design where the screen can be turned to portrait mode for DS games and then turned to landscape mode and slid upwards like a typical cell phone design for TS games.

Although for that design to work the buttons would have to be nearly flush to the device to not interfere with the sliding screen. While that's fine for the ABXY butto